Ken Garen, CPA, Co-Founder and President, UBCC

Who’s the Center of Attention at Holiday Parties? Your Tax Accountant Accountants face long hours, anxious clients, but ‘it’s never been a better time to be a CPA’ By Michael Rapoport Updated Dec. 28, 2017 10:03 a.m. ET When Mark Astrinos is asked what he does, the response is typically muted. “I’ll just say, ’I’m a CPA,’ and the conversation will end,” said the certified public accountant and financial planner with Libra Wealth LLC in San Francisco. Not lately, though. Thanks to the sweeping tax-overhaul bill passed by Congress and signed this month by President Donald Trump, people now “light up and they’re so intrigued and they want to know how they’ll be affected,” he said. In part because of the attention, Mr. Astrinos said, “It’s never been a better time to be a CPA.” Tax professionals suddenly have found themselves at the center of the cultural conversation. Fine points of pass-through business income and the state-and-local-tax deduction are now the stu...

Everyone; The IRS is “working” to develop guidance to implement the tax reform bill signed into law on December 22, 2017 (see the official statement below).  The IRS is “anticipating ” releasing that guidance in January and the IRS will be “encouraging” Payroll Service Bureaus to implement the changes in February.  The IRS said that the existing W4’s already filed do not need to be re-filed.  UBCC has the New Federal tax calculations ready for your use (based  on non-IRS sources) for anyone who wants to use them immediately. Please let us know if you want them. As soon as they The IRS publishes the official 2018 rules, UBCC will make any changes as soon as possible. Note too that exclusively at the discretion of the IRS, the 2017 rules may be continued for 2018.” There are now four federal tax Status for 2018……… S    Single  ($12,000) Standard Deduction M   Married ($24,000) Standard Deduction H  ...

Genetic-based dating app works to find true love using your DNA By Maggie Gordon December 26, 2017 Updated: December 26, 2017 3:18pm The first question out of Asma Mirza's mouth when she makes a new acquaintance these days is, "Are you single?" If she gets a yes, the 27-year-old CEO quickly follows up with a request to swab the inside of her new friend's cheek, in hopes it will help them find true love. Often, people look at her like she's crazy. They'll ask, "What does my DNA have to do with love?" According to an ever-growing body of scientific research, the answer is: quite a bit. That's why Mirza and 26-year-old geneticist Brittany Barreto have spent the last year huddled in their downtown Houston office, working steadily to launch the nation's first genetics-based dating app, Pheramor. Their phone-based app, which they plan to officially roll out in February, combines genetic information with data gleaned from social...

Self-healing glass: a cracking discovery from Japan By Hiroshi HIYAMA AFP•December 27, 2017 A Japanese researcher has developed -- by accident-- a new type of glass that can be repaired simply by pressing it back together after it cracks. The discovery opens the way for super-durable glass that could triple the lifespan of everyday products like car windows, construction materials, fish tanks and even toilet seats. Yu Yanagisawa, a chemistry researcher at the University of Tokyo, made the breakthrough by chance while investigating adhesives that can be used on wet surfaces. Does this mean you will soon be able to repair those cracks in your smartphone with a quick press of the fingers? Or surreptitiously piece together a shattered beer glass dropped after one pint too many? Well, not quite. Not now and in fact, not in the near future. But it does open a window of opportunity for researchers to explore ways to make more durable, lightweight, glass-like items...

Amazon is planning a push into digital advertising in 2018, challenging Google and Facebook Amazon is expanding advertising efforts in 2018, especially on its search and video products. It also has plans to increase advertising sales off its platform, including partnering with third-party technology companies to sell partnered TV and mobile ads. By Michelle Castillo December 26, 2017 CNBC.com Amazon has been quietly experimenting with various advertising products across its portfolio and off its website, according to interviews with half a dozen ad buyers and technology partners. And it's getting ready to make waves in 2018. Most of the conversations are focusing on new ad opportunities on Amazon's e-commerce search and video products, sources say. The company is also looking to sell advertising beyond Amazon sites and products. For example, a source with knowledge about the situation says it is working with third-party mobile advertising companies such...

Apple faces lawsuits after saying it slows down aging iPhones by Reuters Wednesday, 27 December 2017 01:38 GMT SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Apple Inc defrauded iPhone users by slowing devices without warning to compensate for poor battery performance, according to eight lawsuits filed in various federal courts in the week since the company opened up about the year-old software change. The tweak may have led iPhone owners to misguided attempts to resolve issues over the last year, the lawsuits contend. All the lawsuits - filed in U.S. District Courts in California, New York and Illinois - seek class-action to represent potentially millions of iPhone owners nationwide. A similar case was lodged in an Israeli court on Monday, the newspaper Haaretz reported. Apple did not respond to an email seeking comment on the filings. The company acknowledged last week for the first time in detail that operating system updates released since "last year" for ...

Russia Plans National Biometric Database Starting Next Year Upper house of parliament approves law allowing system Russian state-owned firms lead push for biometric technology By Jake Rudnitsky December 26, 2017, 5:42 AM PST Russia will get a country-wide biometric database for financial services starting next summer, the central bank said. The system will expand access to banking by letting people open accounts without having to visit a branch and is a key milestone in digitizing financial services, the Bank of Russia said in a statement. The regulator said that data would only be stored with individuals’ consent. Legal changes needed for the system passed this month. State-owned Rostelecom PJSC has been selected to run the database, which will collect personal data including images of faces, voice samples and, eventually, irises and fingerprints. Facial-recognition technology has been gaining consumer acceptance around the world, with Apple Inc.’s latest iPhone...